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US 12,030,264 B2Granted
Methods and equipment for forming tubes of fibrous material
AssigneeBritish American Tobacco (Investments) Limited
InventorsGary Fallon, Arnold Herholdt, Gerhard Le Roux, John Richardson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Equipment for forming a tubular rod from a bundle of fibrous material comprising a mandrel constructed to form a space within the bundle of fibres; the mandrel includes a passage for delivering a treatment fluid to facilitate the formation of the fibres into a tubular structure as the fibre bundle as the bundle passes over the mandrel.
Claims13
Equipment for forming a tubular rod from a bundle of fibrous material comprising:
- a mandrel having an upstream end section and a downstream end section separated by a tapered intermediate section so that the downstream end section has a smaller cross-sectional area than the upstream end section, the mandrel being constructed to form a space within the bundle of fibres as the bundle of fibres advances over the mandrel;
- a die constructed to form the bundle of fibers around the mandrel into a desired external shape, the die comprising a passage having a longitudinal axis;
- wherein the upstream end section and intermediate section of the mandrel comprises a passage therein, said passage having a longitudinal axis that is coaxial with said longitudinal axis of the passage of the die,
- wherein an outlet is provided in the tapered intermediate section of the mandrel, between the upstream and the downstream end sections, for delivering a treatment fluid from the passage to the bundle of fibrous material on the mandrel in a direction that is not opposed to the direction of movement of the bundle over the mandrel, the outlet being oriented at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the passage.
1 more element
A method of forming a tubular rod of fibrous material from a bundle of fibrous material, comprising:
- advancing the bundle of fibres over a mandrel to form a space within the bundle of fibres, the mandrel having an upstream end section and a downstream end section separated by a tapered intermediate section so that the downstream end section has a smaller cross-sectional area than the upstream end section,
- forming the bundle of fibres around the mandrel into a desired external shape with a die comprising a passage having a longitudinal axis,
- delivering a treatment fluid from a passage in the upstream end section and intermediate section of the mandrel, said passage having a longitudinal axis that is coaxial with said longitudinal axis of the passage of the die, to the bundle of fibrous material on the mandrel through an outlet provided in the tapered intermediate section of the mandrel between the upstream and downstream end sections, the outlet being oriented at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the passage so that said treatment fluid is delivered in a direction that is not opposed to the direction of movement of the bundle over the mandrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.